In 2008, after her retirement, Jean Kittrell partnered with the St. Louis Jazz Club, an organization she had been a member of throughout her career, to establish a jazz scholarship. This scholarship, which continues today to be awarded to a student in SIUE’s jazz studies program each year, offers financial help to encourage young musicians to develop their musical abilities in the field of jazz, especially the Dixieland and traditional genres that Jean herself was known for. To qualify, as Jean said, there are “no specific qualifications required…except that the student should have a great sense of rhythm, a good ear, and adequate command of their instrument” including, like Jean herself, the voice.

For those interested in supporting Jean’s legacy by contributing to the Jean Kittrell Jazz Scholarship and/or preserving the Jean Kittrell Collection, contact the St. Louis Jazz Club (http://stlouisjazzclub.org/contact.html), or SIUE Foundation (https://www.siue.edu/give/about/contact-us.shtml) and mention the Jean Kittrell Jazz Scholarship.

For those interested in supporting Jean’s legacy by contributing to the Jean Kittrell Collection in the National Ragtime and Jazz Archive, contact the SIUE foundation using the link above and mention the Jean Kittrell Collection and National Ragtime and Jazz Archive. Jean Kittrell memorial gifts to the SIUE Foundation will be divided equally between the Jean Kittrell Jazz Scholarship and the National Ragtime and Jazz Archive.

For students interested in the application and nomination process, more information can be found here: https://siue.academicworks.com/opportunities/6600.